“Myth?” Ramirez continued, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Apparently not. I’ve been doing some digging.”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t do any digging into this, Angel. I’m serious.”
“I noticed. I thought it was a myth?”
“Considering my life as of late,” I said, rubbing a temple, “I’ve learned some myths are best left alone.”
“You know him…this Pitbull Douglas.”
“I know of him,” I said, trying to maintain some distance. “Shadow Company doesn’t officially exist for a reason.”
“He asked for you by name, Strong. Why would he do that?”
“I don’t know.”
To show me he could reach out and find me…if he wanted to.
“He left a number and said you should call him within the hour. That it’s urgent.”
It was always urgent at the Shadow Company.
Ramirez handed me a slip of paper. I looked down at the unfamiliar number and memorized it. It was almost certainly untraceable. In an hour, the number would become inactive, rendered useless.
“Did he say anything else?”
“He said they’re on the hunt and need your special skill,” Ramirez answered. “What special skill do you have? Annoying the hell out of people? Advanced smartassery?”
“Those are gifts, by the way,” I said with a tight smile. “I don’t have any skills aside from those.”
“Bullshit. I managed to unseal some of your records.”
“Angel, you’re stepping into a minefield way above your pay grade.”
“I know,” Ramirez answered with a lopsided grin. “It’s pissing off all sorts of people, especially the brass.”
“I know you’re the Director now…”
“Which means I have clearance in the NYTF, but this took some favors, Strong.”
“You’re playing with fire while being doused in gasoline,” I said, my voice a blade slicing through the air. “What else did you uncover?”
“You’re a dead-eye?”
“I have good aim,” I admitted. “Above average.”
“Good, my ass. You were one of the best,” Ramirez answered. “What happened?”
“I missed. Drop this, Angel.”
“Consider it dropped,” he said—a clear lie. “I won’t push anymore.”
“Do not ‘uncover’ anything else,” I said. “For your safety, leave this alone.”
“For my safety?”
“These people don’t believe in loose ends. Do you understand? This is not the NYTF.”
“Are you in trouble?” Angel asked, concerned. “If you need help…”
“No,” I said with finality. “Not with this, not ever.”
I left the NYTF HQ and stood outside the building. There was no way this could be a coincidence. I learned early on in my life, that no such thing existed. I scanned the street and headed uptown to the Moscow with Peaches by my side.
<Can we go the place?>
<We need to go see Monty first.>
<Then we can get meat?>
<Yes, try not to smile at anyone on the way there.>
<You said I should be more friendly.>
<If you smile you’ll scare everyone. Don’t smile.>
Peaches chuffed and gave off a low rumble, forcing some pedestrians to cross the street. I smiled in spite of myself, before my thoughts turned to Ramirez’s words.
There was only one thing Shadow Company would need me for. Either Pitbull was offering me a chance at redemption, or he wanted one last opportunity to end me himself. Word was, after Cassandra, the only thing Shadow Company “hunted” these days—which was just another way of saying “exterminated”—were lethal creatures capable of destroying you in a split second.
Ancient things, filled with magic, malice, and hatred.
A hatred so old it defied explanation or reason.
They were hunting dragons.
I needed to make a call.
THE END
Author Notes
Thank you for reading this story and jumping back into the Monty & Strong World.
First off, I want to say THANK YOU.
Thank you for your patience in waiting for this book to be written. I know after DARK GLASS, there were rumors of hunting me down, and sharing the PAIN. You were able to ride the tsunami waves of that ending into this story. I truly hope WALKING THE RAZOR was worth the wait. I had a great time writing it. I hope you’ll have a great time reading it.
If DARK GLASS was us reaching the the first crest of the rollercoaster, WALKING THE RAZOR is us, on top of that crest, just before the drop, when you get those butterflies in your stomach and you can see out over the park. That moment when you realize just how high up you are, and if you could, you would get off. We’re about to head into the drop, and I promise, you need to strap in.
We explored some interesting themes in this story, most important was family. Simon is growing, as is Monty. That growth will come with pain, danger, and laughter. Very much like what we all have to go through. In order for us to grow, we must reconcile with our past, which is what the next story, REQUIEM will deal with.
In it, we get to see where Simon comes from, at least some of his past. Most of it is redacted. He will realize, like Monty, that no matter how fast you run, there are times your past will catch up to you, and force you to confront certain issues.
That is also a very relevant theme with Jessikah (I can hear the cringe from here) who has to outgrow her past and indoctrination. It won’t be easy for her. Her future is a road paved with pain, LARGE doses of pain. Both physical and psychological, but she will learn and grow. On occasion she will make appearances in the main storyline, but she will eventually have her own series, she just needs to have some enlightening moments with Master Yat, first.
The actions Evers set in motion will now take on a life of their own. She may be gone, but what she did will have repercussions in the next books. I look forward to sharing more of that, as the M&S World gears up for what’s coming.
Since I get many questions after each book let me try and address some of them here:
Yes, Dex will be starting a school called the Montague School of Battlemagic. It will eventually be his own series. I
